


Then I Heard Your Heart Beating, You Were In The Darkness Too

by Thali_Quinn



Series: Three In the Morning [3]
Category: Homestuck
Genre: Could be seen as <>, Dave doesn't know what it means but he's a little pale for Karkat, Dave-centric, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, He is comforted by Karkat's existence., I actually write these at 3AM when I can't sleep, M/M, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Pre-Relationship, Pre-Slash, but there's no actual comfort?, glorified drabble, soft, tw: claustrophobia, tw: panic attack
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-07
Updated: 2020-12-19
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:07:42
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 956
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27934348
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thali_Quinn/pseuds/Thali_Quinn
Summary: It was 3:00:37 AM, and the walls were getting closer.Not literally, of course--the walls were, in the most corporeal of senses, precisely where they had been moments before and would remain so in the moments following. If he’d only seen fit to keep his eyes fixated on them a moment longer, he would have realized they were quite settled into their foundation. As it were, however, his eyes were screwed tightly shut, and the walls were getting closer.Also known as the one where Dave's crushing existentialism begins to very literally press in on him.
Relationships: Dave Strider/Karkat Vantas
Series: Three In the Morning [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/917808
Comments: 7
Kudos: 35





	1. So I stayed In the Darkness With You

**Author's Note:**

> TW: Anxi*ty  
> TW: PTSD  
> TW: P*nic Attack  
> TW: Claustr*ph*bia  
> Disclaimer: I didn't write Homestuck. While the title is a quote from Cosmic Love by Florence and the Machine, its only significance is that I was listening to it while tagging. Then I realized that song totally fit the vibe and I made it the name of the fic!  
> Hey, my dudes! I feel like I haven't written in ages, wow. This is just a short drabble. If it does well, maybe I'll make a follow-up, who knows! As of right now, it is 3:36 AM and I'm feeling rather tempted by a nice, hot cup of coffee, but I've decided to project onto a fictional character instead.

It was 3:00:37 AM, and the walls were getting closer.

Not literally, of course--the walls were, in the most corporeal of senses, precisely where they had been moments before and would remain so in the moments following. If he’d only seen fit to keep his eyes fixated on them a moment longer, he would have realized they were quite settled into their foundation. As it were, however, his eyes were screwed tightly shut, and the walls were getting closer.

Goosebumps pebbled their way up and down ghastly pale skin. A shiver tore through a young man’s body, leaving him trembling, his knobbly knees knocking awkwardly together with each ragged intake of breath. It was 3:01:02 AM, and Dave Strider was having a panic attack.

Were he in any state to think clearly about it, Dave would have likely tried to avoid such emotional vulnerability in such a public space. While the meteor housed many rooms, corridors, commons, and kitchens, no area was quite as frequented as the room he currently inhabited. It did, after all, house the most comfortable couch and the largest TV, traits that made it highly desirable to a bunch of stir-crazy teenagers rocketing through space. It was also in a prime location, nearest both the best kitchen and the alchemiter. Besides, while he may have been acutely aware of the time through his aspect, nothing was keeping the rest of the meteor's population quite so well-informed.

As it were, however, Dave lacked the presence of mind to consider the social implications of his compromised mental state. All that mattered to him was that his heart was beating out of his chest and he couldn't  _ breathe _ and  _ the walls were closing in _ \--

Suddenly, a noise cut through the pounding in his ears, a sharp metallic  _ clang  _ followed by a colorful series of curses. Dave was so startled by it, he forgot that he had been in the midst of a panic attack altogether. Four and three-sixteenths a second later, another deafening crash rang out, and this time Dave was able to recognize the crackling voice of Karkat, obscenities popping and sizzling from his tongue like oil on a hot pan. His voice settled into Dave’s skin like butter, and a sense of ease came over him. Karkat said something particularly indelicate, and the corner of Dave's mouth twitched slightly upwards.

It was then that Dave realized the archway he had been staring at-the one to the kitchen-was not simply hovering in place, but supported by a steadfast wall that was decidedly more inert than he had originally thought.

It was 3:02:57 AM, and Dave Strider took a deep breath. He stared down the wall in front of him, and realized it was not getting closer.


	2. Home Is Wherever I'm With You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Karkat continues to be precisely where and when Dave needs him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey :)  
> I know I said I'd post a second chapter if anyone asked for it, but. Well. I wrote it regardless. Besides, maybe more people will give this short little collection a shot if there are more words.  
> I don't think any TW apply here, but perhaps for implications of PT!D?

Since then, Karkat had always seemed to materialize during Dave’s lowest moments. If Dave found himself adrift in his own caustic thoughts, Karkat appeared with a grounding presence. When Dave felt stranded, isolated by his paranoia, Karkat was near, and when Dave was swept back in time, to a place of clashing swords, biting metal, and scars that never quite healed, Karkat was there to pull him back to the present. For the first time in his life, Dave was not alone. 

Dave wasn't sure when Karkat's appearances had gone from the distant occupation of another room to where they were now, blunt nails and ashen fingers carding gently through blonde hair. They never spoke of it afterward, when the swirling pandemonium of the night gave way to the steady thrum of day, and they certainly didn't speak while the air was still thick with fear. Dave had a feeling that if he tried, he would choke on it.

Karkat's hand stilled above him, his body going stiff. Dave slowly lifted his head from the troll's lap and looked first at his deer-in-headlights expression, then at its cause. Kanaya Maryam eyed them somewhat skeptically, perfectly arched eyebrows grazing the edge of her perfectly-styled bangs. Looking at Karkat, she held four perfectly manicured fingers into the shape of a diamond, to which he shrugged.

To Dave's surprise, he was not booted from Karkat's lap. Instead, he and Kanaya nodded to each other, and Karkat's hand resumed its original task, delicately running through his greasy blonde hair. Even more surprising, Kanaya alighted on the opposite end of the couch, by Dave's feet, and began to read by the glow of her own skin. Dave looked up at Karkat, who shrugged again, this time in response to  _ his _ unasked question. The parallel did not escape Dave, and a warm feeling bubbled in his chest. He knew Karkat and Kanaya were very close. 

They sat silently and contentedly for hours, the only noise the gentle rustle of a page being turned and the distant hum of some romcom no one remembered putting on. At some point they had shifted, Karkat leaning into the end of the couch, elbow digging into the soft leather, one hand still absentmindedly carding through Dave's hair as he watched what looked like a troll version of Hitched. Dave had readjusted as well, now facing the ceiling with his head still in Karkat's lap, his legs entangled with Kanaya's. Kanaya remained passively engaged in the intimidating-looking tome she had set upon, glancing up every once in a while at the T.V.

It was nice, more than nice, even. Dave felt a sense of belonging that was completely foreign to him. Perhaps that was what gave him the courage to break the silence. It was 03:00:05 A.M. He inhaled a sharp, raspy breath, air crackling through his lungs like broken glass, and quietly whispered two words.

"Thank you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed, who knows if I'll write anything else for this, but I certainly will if there is demand.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, I hope you enjoyed! If so, please leave a comment and let me know if you'd like a follow-up to this.


End file.
